


I Remember You

by cold_nights_summer_days



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, CIVIL WAR DIDNT HAPPEN, Explosions, Gen, Guilt, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad Fic Exchange, Lab Accidents, Not Canon Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Tony Stark Has A Heart, they still live in Avengers Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cold_nights_summer_days/pseuds/cold_nights_summer_days
Summary: There was no reason the experiment should have gone wrong. FRIDAY ran countless simulations, each one giving good results. And yet, it does, leaving the Stark family to suffer the consequences.Prompts: Peter Parker is Tony Stark's biological son and Amnesia
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts
Comments: 10
Kudos: 283
Collections: Best Tony and Peter, Irondad Fic Exchange 2019, Peter Parker Stories, The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics, ellie marvel fics - read





	I Remember You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imgoingtocrash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imgoingtocrash/gifts).



> UPDATE: If you are reading this fic on any platform other than the Archive, such as any of the app store/google play apps that are only accesible behind a paywall, this work is available for free on archiveofourown.com. 
> 
> Happy holidays everyone!! I hope everything has been going great for you guys lately (and sorry I haven't posted much, or like at all) and that you are having a wonderful day :)
> 
> This fic was written for the amazing imgoingtocrash for the 2019 Irondad Fic Exchange, and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Peter’s head pounded with the heart rate monitor, each spike a pulse of pain. The headache was nothing compared to the burns on his arms, and even that was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

_“You ready, kiddo?” His dad asked, smiling. They were working on new Spider-Man technology, Peter’s favourite thing. Except working on the Iron Man armor, of course._

Peter watched the shallow rise and fall of his dad’s chest to reaffirm the idea that he was still alive. After the accident he wasn’t sure.

_“Yeah. Did FRIDAY run the final simulation?” Peter responded. His dad nodded._

The accident that was his fault.

_“I hope this works,” Tony said, helping Peter set up the experiment._

Everything had been going fine until the last step.

_“Can you hand me that?” Tony gestured towards a beaker on the edge of the table. Peter handed to him, careful not to drop it. While the chemical wasn’t dangerous on its own, he certainly didn’t want to risk anything. Just as Tony went to mix the chemicals, Peter felt a pit open up in his stomach._

And then it went to hell.

_A loud bang echoed on the walls, deafening the pair of them. All Peter saw was a bright flash before blinding pain erupted in his hands, his arms, his torso. He fell backwards, knocking over a table on his way down. Before he truly knew what was happening the alarm started blaring and water poured from the sprinklers in the ceiling._

_Peter sat up, ignoring the pain, and looked around frantically. He saw his dad on the ground several feet away. Unlike Peter, he didn’t appear to be awake. The skin on his hands was red._

Later, Peter would learn that it was from burns, not blood. Not that that was better by any stretch of the imagination.

_Peter called out to him. No response. He tried again, this time forcing himself to his hands and knees. He slowly crawled over to his dad, careful to avoid the still-smoking remains of a lab coat._

_“Dad?” Peter shook Tony’s arm, already crying at the pain in his own. He tried again before someone was dragging him out of the lab. He wanted to struggle, to go back and make sure Tony was okay, but he was frozen. Even the words had trouble forming._

_“Please—don’t—I – he –“_

_“We’ve got him, okay? We’ve got him.” Replied the person who was carrying him. Peter wondered how he could sound so calm when everything was so clearly not okay._

That was twelve hours ago. Since then Peter had passed out, woken up covered in bandages, and moved from his own spot in the medbay to an uncomfortable plastic chair next to Tony. He wondered why they didn’t have better ones. Pepper had visited him a couple hours before to bring him lunch, but Peter left it untouched on the end table. The guilt in his stomach didn’t leave room for anything else. _I knew something was wrong. If I had just said something--_

He pretended not to see the sad look she gave him as she left, but it still made him feel worse. The security system in the lab was damaged during the explosion, so they couldn’t look at footage of what happened, but Peter knew she wouldn’t feel bad for him if she ever did see it. Then she, and the rest of the world, would know that the explosion was Peter’s fault. He could have stopped it if he’d said something when his spider-sense went off

They would know, and they would probably hate him. Peter tried to push that thought away—there were more pressing things to worry about— but it was never far. He attempted to distract himself by texting Ned until he realized his phone was destroyed by the accident too. So, instead he talked to the one person he desperately wanted to seek comfort from, even though he couldn’t hear him.

“I’m sorry, dad,” Peter whispered softly.

Peter woke from a fitful sleep around three a.m. He was in his own bed, courtesy of Pepper, and nearly had a heart attack when FRIDAY started talking.

“Sorry to have woken you, Peter, but Pepper has requested your presence in the medbay. She says its urgent.”

“Did something happen?” He asked nervously, fearing the worst. His heart was already racing before he heard the reply.

“Dr. Cho will explain when you arrive.” FRIDAY answered cryptically. The reply (somehow) made Peter more jittery than he already had been. He carelessly tossed the covers onto the floor as he jumped out of bed to run downstairs. He took the stairs instead of the elevator, glad that it was the middle of the night. There were no Stark Industries employees to run into that way.

Dr. Cho waited for Peter just outside the door to Tony’s room. She appeared tired, but still as professional as ever with a clipboard in hand. Upon hearing Peter’s footsteps, she looked up from the charts with an apologetic look. She barely had a chance to explain before Peter started asking all manner of questions, all of them some variation of “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s stable, at least. He woke up around twenty minutes ago, Pepper is in there with him now, but there’s something you have to understand before you go in. He appears to be suffering from retrograde amnesia. Do you know what that is?”

Peter shook his head and nervously toyed with the hem of his t-shirt.

“It means that his ability to make memories hasn’t been altered, but he can’t access past memories. We’re optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery soon, but until then, he won’t remember you.”

Peter understood what she meant, but the words must not have stuck, because it still tore his heart in two when he walked in the room and his father looked at him like a stranger. Peter stood in the doorway as if his feet were glued to the floor. He could only watch as Pepper leaned towards Tony and explained who he was.

Pepper beckoned him closer and gestured for him to sit beside her on the edge of the mattress. “How did you sleep, sweetie?”

“Not very well.” Peter answered, looking anywhere but Tony. He didn’t want to see the bandages that were there because of him or the bruises that were there because of him and he definitely didn’t want to see the confusion that was there because of him. This is all your fault.

“Sorry to wake you early, then, but I figured you would be more upset if I hadn’t.” Pepper said. Peter wondered if he truly would have been more upset if she hadn’t woken him up until later. He already felt like shit anyway, so it probably didn’t matter.

“It’s okay. I was awake when FRIDAY called me anyways.” Tony looked confused at the mention of the AI, but he didn’t say anything. Peter felt another twang of guilt.

Pepper only nodded. Neither Peter nor Tony knew what to do. Peter could feel his dad’s eyes burning a hole in the side of his head as he stared out the room’s only window. There wasn’t much to look at other than the dark sky, but thanks to his spider powers, he could hear the traffic in the city below them while he once again played with the hem of his shirt.

After several minutes of the painfully tangible tension Pepper excused herself by claiming she forgot something she needed upstairs. Peter watched her go warily. He suddenly didn’t know how to act around the only constant figure in his life. He desperately wanted the comfort that only his father could give him but couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t deserve it. As soon as the door shut behind Pepper the tears started flowing.

“I’m sorry,” Peter sobbed. “I should have done something—”

“What could you have done?” The words were sharper than Tony intended them to be. He wasn’t sure how to comfort this kid that he was told was his but didn’t recognize. He only knew his name and relation because Pepper had informed him before fetching Peter, hoping to soften the blow even just the slightest. It hadn’t worked.

“I don’t know. Something. Anything. I’m the one who has super healing, I should have taken more of the blast.” Peter rambled. He tried to look anywhere but at his father. This time Tony’s words were softer, closer to the way they normally were but still unusually harsh.

“There isn’t anything you could have done. We won’t know what really happened until the fire marshal gives us his report.”

Peter flinched at Tony’s tone. He’d heard his dad talk like that many times, sure, but never to him. That voice was reserved for board rooms and SHIELD agents. That voice was reserved for people Tony didn’t know. Tony sighed, leaning his head back against the pillow.

“Look, kid, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to take this out on you. I don’t know anyone who’s come in this room today even though you all very clearly know me. And I know it hurting all of you, but I don’t know how to fix it.”

“I know.” Peter said, finally looking at his dad. “Dr. Cho said there isn’t much we can do but let the memories come back naturally. I don’t want to make you feel bad about it, but I cant pretend that it doesn’t hurt. You’re the only person who’s been there for me my whole life. It’s hard to feel like a stranger.”

Tony looked sadly at the kid (his kid, he reminded himself) sitting at the edge of the bed. He looked much younger than Pepper had said he was. His small frame was practically swimming in the red sweatshirt he was wearing. They could certainly afford clothing that was the right size, so where had he gotten it?

“Where is the sweatshirt from?” He asked. Peter looked at what he was wearing like he too was only noticing it for the first time and shrugged.

“It’s yours. From college.”

“Oh.”

“You went to MIT. Graduated summa cum laude in engineering. Not that you graduating top of your class was surprising.” Peter allowed a small smile with the last sentence as if it was some sort of inside joke. Maybe it was, Tony wouldn’t know. “Uncle Rhodey—your best friend—went there, too. It’s where you met.”

“Is Rhodey short for something?” Tony couldn’t imagine that was his real name. Peter nodded.

“James Rhodes. He doesn’t like being called that, though. I’m sure he’ll be by later this morning to visit. He was in Washington for a conference, but Pepper called him after the—uh—the incident.”

“Is there anything else I should know about him before he comes?”

“You call him honey bear a lot, too. He’s a colonel in the military, and an Avenger. War Machine, actually. The government tried to change his name to Iron Patriot but it’s not anywhere near as cool.”

Peter yawned, the events of the last sixteen hours weighing on his shoulders like a ton of bricks. Even though Tony would rather keep talking, keep trying to learn about his life and maybe jog his memory, he sent him to bed. Pepper said she wouldn’t mind filling him in on what he needed to know, and supposedly FRIDAY would be able to do the same.

Peter didn’t protest, welcoming the invitation to sleep. He hadn’t been able to earlier, tossing and turning nervously, but now he could barely keep his eyes open. There was nothing he wanted to do more than crawl into bed and bury his emotions in a heap of blankets. Peter nearly fell asleep in the elevator on the way to the penthouse. Pepper was waiting for him on the other side. When she asked if he needed anything, Peter shook his head and made his way down the hall to his bedroom.

Sleep brought relief. Much needed sweet relief.

Tony, however, wasn’t so lucky. Sleep eluded him as the sun rose. He filled the time by asking FRIDAY (who he thought was fucking cool and also a little weird) questions.

“What does Pepper do? Like as a job, I mean.” He asked. FRIDAY had answered all his questions diligently and patiently. It was easier to ask her. She couldn’t be hurt by too-harsh words and empty gazes.

“She is the CEO of your company, Stark Industries.”

“I own a company?”

“Yes, sir. Stark Industries was founded by your father Howard Stark in 1940. It was primarily a weapons and tech company until you shut down the weapons division in 2008. Now the main focus is on medical research and technology development.”

“What more can you tell me about Howard Stark?”

“Howard Stark was born 15 August 1917 in Richford, New York. He worked with the U.S. military during World War II and founded Stark Industries before being briefly on the run from the government, primary the SSR for supposed war crimes. He became one of the founding members of SHIELD. He died in 1991 as the result of a car crash. His wife and your mother, Maria Stark, was also killed in the crash.”

"And what about Maria Stark?”

“Maria Stark was born Maria Carbonell in Southampton, New York to a wealthy family and became a philanthropist as well as a socialite. She married Howard Stark before having you on 29 May 1970. Died 16 December 1991.”

“What is SHIELD?” 

“SHIELD, or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, is a government organization that focuses on espionage, law enforcement, and counter terrorism tactics. You are a member of one of their programs called the Avengers Initiative.”

FRIDAY continued without Tony even having to ask, already anticipating what he would want to know. Pepper told him that he designed FRIDAY, and maybe it was odd, but he felt a strange sense of pride at programming her so well.

“The Avengers Initiative was designed to bring together the best and most able people Earth has to offer. Their job is to defend Earth from threats, terrestrial and extraterrestrial, that are beyond the capabilities of conventional military to handle. You are one of the original six members and go by the title Iron Man.”

“Original six? How many are there now?” 

“There are thirteen active members, including your son Peter.”

“I let my son be an Avenger? Is there something wrong with me?” Tony was shocked. He may not know very much right now, but it certainly seemed wrong that he let his son be a part of something so dangerous. _Maybe I should fix that._

“What does he do?” 

“Peter, also known as Spider-Man, does not participate in the larger scale battles. He spends most of his time on patrols in New York City, stopping small crime and helping out the little guy. For example, on his last patrol, he helped an old lady get her cat out of a tree.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh at the last part. He could feel a memory poking at the edge of his mind, just far enough away that he couldn’t reach it. It frustrated him to no end. Dr. Cho had told him that he couldn’t force it, he had to let the memories come back naturally, but it was difficult. Tony just wanted to remember. He didn’t want to hurt everyone else, especially after making Peter cry. He didn’t want to ever do that again.

“Tell me about him.”

“Peter’s full name is Peter Anthony Stark and he was born on 10 August 2001. His mother, Mary Fitzpatrick, granted you full custody after deciding her career was hardly conducive to raising a child. Peter currently attends Midtown Science and Tech, where he maintains a 4.0 GPA and is also a member of the Academic Decathlon team. Would you like to know more?”

“Yes,” Tony answered.

“His favorite movies are the Star Wars films, and he prefers to watch them in release order instead of chronological order. He believed the experience is more authentic that way. His best friend is another student at Midtown named Ned Leeds and his favorite color is red.”

Just as FRIDAY finished talking Tony heard footsteps in the hallway outside his room. He quickly thanked FRIDAY for her help.

“That’s what I’m here for, sir.” FRIDAY replied.

Tony was released from the med bay later that day, just in time for dinner. Pepper was the one to make sure that he didn’t end up on the wrong floor. FRIDAY could have done the job just as well, but Pepper didn’t want him to feel more disconnected than he probably already did.

"Dinner is ready if you’d like to eat now,” Pepper said once they were in the elevator. The awkward silence was practically tangible in the small space with neither of them quite sure how act around the other.

Tony nodded. Even in Avengers Tower the hospital food wasn’t great, and he hadn’t eaten since he’d woken up somewhere around two thirty that morning. They reached the penthouse quickly, opening the door to Peter setting the table. Peter turned around when he heard them and greeted them with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Tony returned the smile, the gesture unfamiliar to him. If it came out more like a grimace, nobody said anything to him about it. Pepper did her best to keep the conversation going during dinner but had to leave the room halfway through to answer a call from the fire department regarding the lab incident.

“The fire marshal thinks he figured out what caused the explosion,” Pepper said when she came back into the room. Peter looked up at her expectantly. “He said that the chemicals you two were using were mislabeled, and the ones you happened to mix had a volatile reaction.”

“Who would have labelled them wrong? I thought we were the only ones allowed in that lab. FRIDAY would never let anyone else in.” Peter looked to Pepper for an answer, but she shrugged her shoulders.

“We’ll have to check the security tapes. Is it possible that the interns labelled them? I know Tony has them help with some of the bigger organization projects. FRIDAY, can you work on that for me?”

“Of course,” Came FRIDAY’s quick answer. Peter felt a surge of anger. What if someone had done this on purpose? What if his dad never got his memory back and it was all because of some intern?

Peter, Tony, and Pepper were all sitting in an examination room on the medical floor. A week had passed since the explosion and Dr. Cho wanted to check up on their burns as well as Tony’s amnesia. There wasn’t much to check on Peter because of his super healing, but she still felt it necessary.

Cho walked in not long after everyone else, as serious as ever. She wasted no time in checking Peter and Tony’s various burns and bruises before moving on to the more pressing issue.

“Have you been able to recall anything, even something small?” Cho asked. Tony shook his head.

“Any headaches?”

“Not really. I had one two days ago, but it wasn’t a bad one.”

Cho nodded and checked some things off on a chart. Once her questions were finished, she took Tony for an MRI, leaving Pepper and Peter to their own devices for the time being. They avoided the elephant in the room, choosing to talk about things like the tv show they’d been watching that week.

“I found the weirdest thing ever on Netflix last night. It’s only like twelve minutes long, but its about this sheep that lives on this island in the middle of nowhere—”

Peter was cut off by the door opening and his dad and Cho coming back in. Tony took a seat beside Peter and stared towards the ground. Cho cleared her throat before speaking.

“I have some less-than-great news. While it seems that Tony’s burns and bruises are healing correctly, his brain doesn’t show many signs of recovery. That isn’t to say that it isn’t possible for him to get his memory back, but it does mean that the longer he doesn’t the less likely it is that he will.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Pepper asked, concerned. Cho informed them that there wasn’t much they could do other than wait and see what happened.

“You can keep trying to jog your memory, but it doesn’t always work that way. It might work, but it probably won’t. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for being honest.” Tony said. Peter couldn’t do much more than stare at Cho while she delivered the news. What were they supposed to do if he never remembered?

Late one night Peter heard noise from the living room, which was odd considering everyone went to bed hours ago. There was no reason for it to be any of the Avengers since they had their own floors. Deciding to investigate, Peter pulled off the bed covers and quietly slipped down the hallway.

All the lights were off in the penthouse except for the tv, bathing the living room in a soft glow. Peter couldn’t figure out what was playing until his own face appeared on the screen, albeit a much younger version of himself. It was a video from his fifth birthday party. His dad was holding him while Rhodey and Happy stood off to the side, having just sung Happy Birthday to him. Pepper must have been taking the video because she was the only one not in it.

<,i>“I can’t believe he’s five already,” Rhodey said, shaking his head. His dad agreed with him, saying something about how they grow up too fast. Pepper could be heard laughing in the background.

 _“I know. Feels like just yesterday I was driving you two home from the hospital.”_ Happy chimed in. Tony glanced down at five-year-old Peter with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen.

_“I was so scared that day. It’s a surprise we ever made it back here with how slow I made you drive.”_

_“Yeah, you had me driving forty on the interstate. If I hadn’t sped up right as we passed that cop, we would have been pulled over.”_

_“That would have been a field day for the press.”_ Pepper laughed from behind the camera, the video turning shaky. _“Tony Stark Caught Driving Forty on The Highway with World’s Smallest Baby.”_

 _“He was pretty tiny, wasn’t he? Can’t say he’s grown much.”_ Rhodey joked. Peter let out a small whimper, earning a round of laughs.

_“Come on, Rhodey. Your job as an uncle is to make my kid happy, not tease him. Don’t listen to him, bambino, you’re perfect just the way you are.”_

_“Nah, I’m fairly sure that’s my job too. Right, Happy?”_

_“Of course. If we’re going to spoil him, we’ve earned the right to tease him a bit. If he’s anything like you he’ll learn to dish it right back.”_

The video was over, but another one soon took its place. The next video was much more recent, being from a little over a year and a half ago. This one was of Peter’s first day of high school. Peter remembered that day all too much, in his opinion. Everyone wanted to talk to him because of who he was (he was used to it by then, but it still sucked) and he could barely find a moments peace. He had almost been late to second period by how many people stopped him in the hallway, which earned a lecture from his English teacher that boiled down to, “I don’t care who you’re father is or who you are, if you’re late again you’ll go straight to detention.” To sum it up, his first day of high school sucked.

This time it was Tony behind the camera. Peter was dressed in jeans, a nerdy science t-shirt, and glasses. He hadn’t been bit by the spider at that point and still needed them to see. His dad and Pepper always say they wished he still wore them, but Peter was glad to be rid of them. He’d broken or lost them too many times to count.

 _“Are you ready for your first day of high school?”_ Tony asked. Peter glared at him from across the dining room table.

_“No. I don’t want summer vacation to be over yet.”_

_“It’ll be fun. You get to make new friends and see new things.”_

_“I’m terrible at making friends.”_

_You’ll be fine.”_

The tv paused before the next video could start. Tony stood up from the couch, mug in hand, and started to make his way towards the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Peter standing in the doorway. The pair stared at each other, each waiting for the other to speak first. In the end they both tried speaking at the same time.

“I’m sorry—”

“I didn’t—” 

“You can go first,” Peter said, playing with the sleeve of his shirt. Tony sighed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t. I couldn’t sleep.” Try as he might, Peter couldn’t shut his brain off long enough to even doze. He’s spent hours staring at the ceiling and thinking about what Dr. Cho had said.

“Oh. How long have you been standing there?”

“Only for the last two videos.”

“I know it won’t jog my memory.” Tony admitted, defeated. “But even if I can’t remember on my own, I don’t want to forget.”

Peter wanted to ask the impossible question, but he couldn’t form the words. What do we do if you can’t remember? What happens then?

Two weeks passed with no signs of Tony’s condition improving. He’d spent countless hours watching videos stored in FRIDAY’s servers and reading articles about things he’d done. And yet, nothing. The only things he knew were the things he had researched. How odd it felt to research one’s own life and have no recollection of any event that one learns about.

The intern who mislabeled the chemicals was identified by FRIDAY, as well. He was a college intern from NYU. He claimed to have had no intention of mislabeling the containers, but one of his friends informed the police that he had done it on purpose for no other reason than because he had the opportunity.

Tony wanted so badly to meet him in real life. To show him the true reality of his little stunt. To explain how it felt to not even know his own family, his fiancé, his son. He wanted to make him feel the same. He wanted that stupid NYU intern to know how much pain he’d caused.

It wasn’t good enough to know that he would be going to jail for attempted murder, but it would have to do. Tony had more important things to focus on anyway.

Peter woke up the next night when his door flew open. The light from the hallway hurt his eyes as they tried to adjust. He asked FRIDAY to turn on the lights and dim them. Once Peter could finally see, he saw his dad standing in the doorway.

“I love you, bambino. So, so much.” Tony breathed. Peter squinted at him inquisitively. Nobody had so much as mentioned those three words since the accident.

“I remember,” Tony elaborated. “All of it. I remember all of it.”

“Really?” Peter asked, afraid he was dreaming. His dad nodded. “Oh my god.”

Peter nearly tripped on his blankets after throwing them on the floor in his haste to get up. He stood up so quickly he almost gave himself head rush.

The two met in the middle of the room with a bone crushing hug. If both of them we’re crying, nobody had to know. There was no way any of them could go back to sleep now. So, they met Pepper in the living room for a movie night (or was it a movie morning?) complete with fuzzy blankets, ice cream, and an overabundance of cuddles.

When Rhodey came over to visit that morning, he found the three of them asleep on the couch under a shared blanket.

“It’s good to have you back, Tones,” He whispered before heading to the guest bedroom. He hadn’t had the heart to wake them up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week, ya'll! Check out my tumblr (unfathomable-universe) for more content like this!
> 
> [Support me on Ko-Fi, or commission a fic!](https://ko-fi.com/cold_nights_summer_days)


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